Obama vacation back on course
By Mark Shanahan & Meredith Goldstein, Globe Staff | August 26, 2010
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OAK BLUFFS — For a while yesterday, Martha’s Vineyard looked like Shutter Island, the bleak and abandoned outcropping in Martin Scorsese’s movie. Then the sun peeked through and the presidential vacation was suddenly back on.
Prevented from golfing for two days by a steady rain that caused minor flooding on the island, President Obama seized on the better weather yesterday, pressing some flesh in Oak Bluffs and finally hitting the links again.
Obama, whose 10-day stay wraps up Sunday, joined wife Michelle, daughters Malia and Sasha, and a group of friends for an hourlong lunch at Nancy’s Restaurant overlooking Oak Bluffs Harbor. Outside, behind police tape that lined both sides of the street, an impatient crowd gathered to catch a glimpse of the first family.
“He can’t wave? Why can’t he wave?’’ said New Yorker Crystal Bond. “What’s up with no waving?’’
Obama, who could be seen through a second-floor window drinking a bottle of Corona Light (with a slice of lime), was accompanied by friends Valerie Jarrett, Eric and Cheryl Whitaker — near-constant companions on this trip — George and Clarice Dibble Walker, George Walker IV, Cy Walker, Ann Marchant, David Watkins, and Elizabeth Alexander.
“We had a wonderful time,’’ George Walker told us as he walked out with his wife. “They’re very good friends.’’ (That must be true, because we saw the president give Clarice Walker a little kiss on the cheek before leaving.)
Afterward, the president tossed his jacket aside and shook a few hands — “Good to see you guys,’’ he told squealing supporters. “You doing all right?’’ — but he waved off a reporter’s request for a more substantive exchange. Asked about Iraq, the president replied, “We’re buying shrimp, guys, c’mon.’’
A town employee who declined to give us her name said she was thrilled to shake the president’s hand, even if she doesn’t always agree with him. “I’m the happiest Republican in the world,’’ the woman said. “If the leader of the free world wants to shake your hand, you shake it.’’
From there, it was off to Mink Meadows Golf Club, a public course in Vineyard Haven. The president played in a foursome with Whitaker, former John Kerry aide Marvin Nicholson, and investment banker Robert Wolf. At one point, Obama played a ball close to the pin, drawing oohs and ahhs from a small crowd assembled on the clubhouse porch. Responding to the polite applause, Obama jokingly tipped his White Sox cap.
Earlier, as the president departed Oak Bluffs in a black SUV, Susan Tufo, a summer resident in West Tisbury, was watching, her Shetland Sheepdog, Lacie Mae, in her arms.
“I’m pleased he picked Martha’s Vineyard to come to. It reinforces that this is a great place,’’ Tufo said. “It’s a pat on the back that we picked the right place to build a house.’’
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“He can’t wave? Why can’t he wave?’’ said New Yorker Crystal Bond. “What’s up with no waving?’’
Moron.
